Glancing at his watch, Julian couldn’t believe he’d been here talking to Broman for almost an hour. The room was still and quiet.
The chair legs scraped against the tile floor as Julian moved closer to the bed. He stared at Broman for a long moment. His dreadlocks had been cut off, hair trimmed to a low fade. Dawn would catch hell from Broman if he woke up and saw his beloved locks gone.
If he woke up.
When he woke up.
Julian would have to decide whether to be honest about what happened in Central Sulawesi. Could he tell his best friend that he alone was the reason four SEALs had died? That he was the reason Broman had lost four years of his life?
As much as he thought he’d moved past that horrible moment, the guilt lingered. It wasn’t just that he’d led El Mago’s rebels to their base. It was how he’d taken the time to corrupt the evidence of his actions on that laptop before checking on his team. That haunted him the most.
SEALs knew that every mission could be their last.
But one of their own leading them to slaughter and covering up the crime wasn’t in any SEAL playbook.
“I hope you’ll be able to forgive me,” Julian said, then pushed away from the bed.
“Friend of Broman’s?” A male voice wafted from behind him.
Julian turned and faced the Black man wearing the signature crisp white lab coat of doctors at the Rakestraw Blake Center. He was a bit shorter than Julian, with deep brown skin and hazel eyes. “Yeah. Are you his doctor? The hotshot from New York City?”
“Hotshot? Hadn’t heard that one before. Miracle worker is what they usually call me.”
“Is that right?” Julian frowned.
“Seriously, I just do what I can to help people in need.” The doctor shrugged, then laughed, extending his hand. “I’m Mike.”
Julian shook it. “Dr. Mike.”
“How about just Mike.” Slipping his stethoscope around his neck, the doctor glanced down at the clipboard, then back at Julian. “Glad to see he’s getting some more visitors other than his wife. He can hear you, so keep coming and talking to him.”
“You sure about that?” Julian asked.
“It’s a big topic of debate, but I’ve seen too much evidence to support it in my career. Take the first patient I had on this protocol, for instance. One of the nurses took a liking to him and told him stories about her struggles with dating and the like. When he woke up, he asked for her by name and gave her some advice about her love life. He didn’t really understand why he felt compelled to, but I know it’s because he heard her talking to him all that time.”
Julian looked away, studying the webbed pattern in the marble floor tiles. “Is the protocol working for Broman? He looks a lot better than the last time I saw him.”
“Everything is slower with Broman than my first patient, but I suspect Broman is presenting a more typical trajectory that can be expected for the average patient who’d receive the protocol. The first patient came out of the coma after three months of treatment,” Mike explained.
“Why did your first patient responded quicker to the treatment? Any theories? Anything we can do to speed up the process?”
“Many times, it’s about what’s driving the patient internally,” Mike said.
“What got the other patient to wake up faster?”
“I’m not one to gossip, but it’s more than an educated guess that he woke up to get revenge on the man who put him in the coma.”
Chapter Two
“You don’t look so confident anymore,” Mena said, easing into the plush chair.
Nash Iverson scratched absently at his temple as he stared out the window. He’d been optimistic when she’d hired him a few weeks ago to represent her in the divorce from Michael. Mena was grateful to find an attorney on the islands that was also licensed to practice law in Florida. It was a good sign, or so she had thought.
“The ruling was upheld,” said Nash, shaking his head. “Despite my efforts to explain why you shouldn’t need to divorce your husband, the judge confirmed the earlier decision. Your marriage to Michael is valid.”
“How can he get away this? It doesn’t make in sense.”
“No, it doesn’t. Your husband is very well connected. I’ve never seen a precedent like this before that would trap you in a marriage with a man that was, for all intent and purposes, a polygamist. Yet, he has two judges willing to side with him.”
